$58M--An expensive slap on the wrist for a low-cost telephone company

It wasn't the $197 million that Verizon wanted from Vonage for infringing on three of its patents, but a $58M judgment is no small change to the low-cost telephone service provider.

It wasn't the $197 million that Verizon wanted from Vonage for infringing on three of its patents, but a $58M judgment is no small change to the low-cost telephone service provider.

It's undecided whether or not Vonage will be kept from using Verizon's technology completely--that segment of the litigation begins later this month. Naturally, Vonage expects to appeal this first ruling.

As a leading provider of VoIP, and with a customer base in excess of 2 million subscribers, the company lost $286 million on revenue of $607 million. The $197 will be another major hit. Stay tuned.